A Cat's Tale
by Lucinda
Summary: Companion series to Family Tree. A series of glimpses as Sabertooth protects Willow.
1. ACT 1: The Arrival

Tttle: A Cat's Tale 1: The Arrival  
  
author: Lucinda  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sabertooth was a big man, although there were those who would insist that he  
was not a man, but some sort of animal. He was Sabertooth. He didn't know  
where he had come from, his past had been forgotten. Occasionally, he had the  
feeling that he had once had another name, but it rarely mattered to him. He  
was over seven feet tall, long hair and rippling muscles, and feral mutation.   
He had claws, sharp teeth, and enhanced senses sharper than that of wild  
predators. He had a healing factor, and didn't seem to age. He was a mutant.  
  
Society had treated him like a dangerous freak, and in retaliation, he had hurt  
people. He had traveled the world aimlessly until Magneto had found him.   
Magneto had taken him in, given him a focus. Had made him welcome, and trusted  
him. He would do anything for Magneto.  
  
Unfortunately, he had failed to protect Magneto from those strange people that  
had fought him at the train station, and again at the Statue of Liberty. It was  
a terrible feeling, to have failed the one person who treated him like a person  
instead of a rampaging beast. Now, Magneto was locked away in a glorified cage  
somewhere. With no one to give him direction, Sabertooth was alternating  
between what he figured was guilt for failing Magneto and boredom.  
  
Magneto had sent him a message. Sabertooth had read it slowly, words not being  
his strongest skill. There had been a picture in the envelope, of a young woman  
with red hair. She looked shy and fragile, like prey. Her eyes were the color  
of leaves. Her scent still lingered on the picture, clean, uncluttered by  
perfumes and cosmetics. The letter had said that she was Magneto's cousin. It  
had said she lived in a dangerous place, and Magneto was afraid something bad  
would happen to her. He was supposed to go keep her safe. She was in  
California, in a small town named Sunnydale. Magneto had asked this of him, he  
would go.  
  
He hid himself in a boxcar, on a train going west. He hated traveling by  
plane, the changing air pressure made his ears hurt. Magneto had only said go,  
not how he should go there. So, he would use the trains. He would go carefully,  
so nobody would see him.  
  
* * * *  
  
He had only had to change trains three times. He was here, in this Sunnydale.   
There air felt off, somehow. There were faint scents in the air, of hunting  
things he couldn't identify, and of death. magneto had been right: this was not  
a safe town. Sabertooth smiled to himself - he hated safe, boring places.  
  
All he had to do now was find the girl, and follow her. Make certain nothing  
bad happened to her. As he walked through the dark town, he observed and  
analyzed his surroundings, in the way a hunting beast pays attention to it's  
surroundings. There were numerous shops, many of them empty. The allies were  
dark, and cluttered with trash. the street lights were far apart, and some had  
burned out. He could smell death in the air, and fear and blood.  
  
Sabertooth followed the scent of blood and fear into one of the allies. There  
was a figure, like a man, stalking a young woman. She was afraid, and injured.   
She wasn't Magneto's cousin, so she was unimportant. The person stalking her  
smelled dead, and somehow ...wrong. The scent caused a growl to rise from  
Sabertooth's chest, and he felt himself going into a crouch.  
  
The dead man turned, snarling at the intruder who had interrupted his meal.   
The woman, even half blind in the dark, took the opportunity to run away. Dead  
man snarled and lunged at Sabertooth. They fought, and Sabertooth had to admit  
the dead smelling man was strong. His face was odd looking, with ridged  
eyebrows and yellow eyes and sharp teeth. It was fun to kill him, but rather  
odd that the body turned into dust right as it fell.  
  
Yes, Magneto's cousin was in a place that wasn't safe. He would have to make  
sure no dead things ate her. It should be interesting. His life was looking up  
already. All he had to do now was find Red.  
  
end A Cat's Tale: the Arrival. 


	2. ACT 2: Finding Red

Fic: A Cat's Tale2: Finding Red   
author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13  
no Willow pairing, I own nobody  
  
  
  
  
  
Sabertooth wandered around Sunnydale, trying to find the   
scent of the redhead -Willow, Magneto's cousin. He was supposed to   
keep her safe, which meant he had to find her. He was rapidly   
coming to the conclusion that this town literally stank. There were   
also a lot of those dead people walking around. He ran into  
two more as he meandered around trying to find Willow's scent. They   
weren't much of a challenge.  
  
Finally, he caught her scent on the breeze, along with the   
murmur of voices. There was a male voice talking. He went towards   
the voice, being careful not to be seen. She was there, Willow and   
there was a boy her age walking with her. He was dressed in loose   
clothing, and smelled of old bruises and those soft cake-like things   
with the creamy filling. Watching them, he could see how  
Willow was paying attention to every word the boy said. For some   
reason, she seemed like she was interested in the whelp.   
*Grrrrrr* ... he wouldn't do for her. She was Magneto's cousin and   
deserved better than some brat still trying to figure out who he   
was. The boy didn't seem to realize that she liked him, so  
that was probably good.  
  
He watched her, following quietly. She was a bit taller   
than he'd expected, but still rather fragile looking. She wouldn't   
even come to his shoulder. Her hair was a brilliant red that looked   
almost like blood under the moonlight. It was natural, he'd have   
been able to smell the dye if the color had come from a bottle. She   
was wearing a fuzzy striped sweater and baggy blue jeans. She  
carried a backpack full of something - books? She moved like she   
wanted to keep the world from noticing her. He would have to keep   
careful watch for the dead men, they would see her as easy prey.   
She was small, probably weak, and timid - definitely a victim   
profile.  
  
They walked up to a house. He could smell two people   
inside, an older man and an older woman. From the scent patterns,   
they lived there, so he assumed they were her parents. There were   
flowering shrubs in the front yard, and it looked... nice. The boy   
left, going away, probably to his own home. Red went into the   
house, and he heard her call a hello mother and father as she went  
through the house. He circled around, knowing that she was headed   
towards the rear of the building.  
  
The light came on in a room. It was clearly her room, with   
a bright fluffy quilt on a bed that had toy animals sitting long the   
edge. She had a computer on a desk, and shelves of books. There   
were paperbacks of varying thickness, and bigger books, like the   
sort that had the many numbers and diagrams that Toad had used when   
he was building things. There was a tank with little brightly  
colored fish swimming around inside.  
  
She was shy, and apparently smart too. He watched as she   
pulled out several big books, and started working on what he assumed   
was homework. She was moving rapidly through it. After she   
finished with the three books from the backpack, she turned on her   
computer. The computer made that noise that let it talk to other   
computers away from here. He peeked through her window to see what   
she was looking at.  
  
It was Magneto's machine. The one he had used on the   
politician. He remembered how it had made the big silvery light and   
had made Magneto very weak after it had been used. Why was she   
looking at it? He listened to what she was saying, but it didn't   
really help him. She was talking to herself, identifying the   
materials that had been used to make the thing. She had it figured   
out pretty well, and was asking herself what it could be used for.   
She was using the big words though, the ones with many syllables and   
he was sure they didn't come from the same language.  
  
She was smart, and shy, and small. She also seemed to be   
brilliant at putting information together and getting more   
information from pieces. That was definitely the sort of person   
that needed protection. Now, she had protection.  
  
end Finding red. 


	3. ACT 3: Bloody Surprise

Fic: A Cat's Tale3: Bloody Surprise 1/1   
  
  
Author: Lucinda  
Rating: PG 13  
no pairing yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth. I do not own anyone from Buffy.  
Distribution: Keep my name on it, tell me where it goes.  
  
  
  
She went to school in the morning. Sabertooth followed her as she walked,  
but didn't go into the school after her. He'd definitely be noticed inside.  
He was lurking in a tree, thinking about Willow while she went through her  
classes. She was a person with many, many thoughts in her head; she had a  
tendency to talk out loud as she thought about something, and she was  
clearly a genius. He also rather suspected that she had done something not  
legal with her computer to get the information about Magneto's machine.  
  
He followed again as she left the school. She was going with another girl,  
one with a bright red sports car. The other girl was pretty, with dark  
hair. She smelled of assertiveness, and makeup and hair products. She  
seemed to be one of those people that wanted to be "the one in charge" all  
the time. Apparently she wanted Willow to help set up some equipment at a  
place called the Bronze. There was something about a dance.  
  
They went into the Bronze; he had passed the place when he was searching  
for Willow earlier. The music he'd heard from it had been terrible. He  
brightened slightly: if it was closed so they could get ready for this  
dance, there wouldn't be any more bad music. He was slightly wrong. One of  
the people inside ... he would bet on the dark haired girl ... had a CD  
player and played something by one of the many boy-bands. He hated it.  
  
Sabertooth had been quite willing to take out his misery on the two large  
scaled things that tried to go inside and eat the girls. They were strong,  
fast, and while he was fighting them he didn't notice the "boy band" noise  
anymore. There had been some more of the walking dead people that had tried  
to go in after the girls also. He was very happy when the music was stopped  
sometime near midnight.  
  
They stayed inside the club building all night. In the morning, Willow  
followed the dark haired girl to the red and they went to the school. There  
had apparently been some boys that were supposed to be helping them inside  
that hadn't shown up. He realized there was a problem as soon as he was  
outside the school building. There were the scents of a group of the dead  
men. They had gone into the building and gone back out, smelling bloody. He  
could also smell that there was a lot of blood somewhere inside on some  
synthetic carpet. There were bodies inside. He could smell it from the  
doors, but the girls couldn't. They had gone inside.  
  
He had heard the dark haired girl screaming easily. They had found the  
bodies. Willow wasn't screaming. He slipped into the school, and followed  
the screams to where the girls were. The dark haired girl was having  
hysterics. Willow was very pale, and very quiet. She suggested they call  
the police. She was very quiet when the police came.  
  
The police here were very bad, as far as Sabertooth could determine. They  
had no idea he was here. They missed the faint smudges from bloody shoes  
leaving the room. They said they thought it was gang hostilities.  
  
They had gone to the library after talking to the police. Willow was still  
calm and quiet, possibly in shock. There were other people that met them in  
there. The dark haired whelp, a blonde girl whose scent was not quite  
normal, and an older man that was here often, from the way his scent layered  
the area. After asking Willow what had happened, they were all fussing over  
the dark haired girl.  
  
He dismissed the whelp as unimportant and followed Willow as she went home.  
Those were supposed to be her friends. He didn't think they were very good  
at it, letting her leave in a state like that. So... the dead men were  
called "vampires," and the people Willow spent her time with knew about  
them, but the police didn't. This town just kept getting stranger all the  
time.  
  
Willow was surprising him though. He had thought she would have panicked,  
maybe screamed like the other girl. She had remained quiet, and kept  
thinking through the whole mess. His opinion of her was rising, and he was  
curious what other surprises she would have for him.  
  
end A Cat's Tale 3: Bloody Surprise. 


	4. ACT 4: Some Friends

ACT4: Some Friends   
  
  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13  
disclaimer: Neither Sabertooth or anyone you recognize from Buffy belong to me.  
Story 4 in A Cats' Tale, companion storyline to Family Tree.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sabertooth was still following Willow. He tried to follow close enough he  
could listen to her talk to herself. Even if he couldn't follow some of the  
technical bits, she had a soothing voice. He liked to listen to her talk.  
  
She didn't have many friends. There was the dark haired boy, "Sander" or  
something like that. He only saw her as someone to hang out with when he had  
nothing better to do. He didn't have much to do anyhow. There was the blonde  
girl from the library, "Fluffy" or "Buffy" or something silly like that. Red  
seemed to think of her as a friend. "Fluffy" seemed to think Red needed to be  
looked after, but left her on her own an awful lot. She kept saying she wanted  
a normal life, and it wasn't fair. Maybe she was a mutant. Red also seemed to  
think well of the man from the library. He sounded British. He listened to her  
in a way that said he knew she was smart. But he didn't always have time to  
spend with a student. There was another blond girl, one that smelled of strange  
herbs and chocolate. She had a normal name, Amy. The only other people she  
seemed to have were the old man in the nursing home that she called grandfather  
and there was a grave she visited regularly.  
  
She talked to the tombstone. Actually, she was talking to the person buried  
there, someone called Jesse. Sabertooth was still trying to figure out if Jesse  
had been a boy or a girl. Jesse had been Willow's friend for many years until  
being killed by someone named Darla. She talked to Jesse's grave a lot, maybe  
because it was such a good listener. She didn't know about her other listener.  
  
She's lonely. Amy had to go spend the summer with her father in Los Angeles.   
Amy had gone to Willow's house to say goodbye, and they had eaten brownies on  
the balcony. Sabertooth had slipped one when they had left to pick up something  
from Amy's father's car. "Fluffy" had just disappeared. Turned out she was  
spending the summer with her dad somewhere else too. The boy was busy  
elsewhere, trying to impress some other girl.  
  
None of them were here for Willow. He hadn't been following her long, but he  
already knew she was there for all her friends. Why weren't they here for her?   
She had her grandfather. And she wrote letters to Magneto.  
  
Poor Red has too many thoughts. She wants to know why nobody sees her as she  
is. Why no guys will ever notice her on the sidelines. Why the popular people  
are always either ignoring her or teasing her. She's wondering if she's a  
mutant. What abilities would she have if she were? How would her family react  
if she were a mutant? Would it ruin her plans for college? She also kept  
asking why Jesse had to die.  
  
Sabertooth wished he could help her find the answers to her questions. He  
wanted her to be happy. She had this spark that made everything around her more  
real.  
  
end Some Friends 


	5. ACT 5: Slime & Thoughts

Fic: ACT5: Slime and Thoughts   
  
  
Rating: PG 13  
mentions Xander having a grilfriend  
distribution: Charity's site, all others please ask  
disclaimer: I do not own anyone you recognize from Marvel/X-Men or   
from   
Buffy.  
set AU summer after season 1 Buffy, post X-Men the movie  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sabertooth frowned. That smell was back again, a slimy   
scent, that reminded him of warm stagnant ponds, and mixed in a bit of hungry   
and foul tempered. He hadn't seen whatever caused the smell, but it seemed   
to be lurking near Willow. Whatever the thing was, he didn't trust it.  
  
He moved a bit, circling the Rosenberg house, trying to get   
sight of the slimy scented thing. If he knew what it looked like, he could   
determine what to do about it. He was growling slightly as he moved closer to   
the creature.  
  
Something that was colored like the shrubbery bounded away,   
with leaps like Toad had used. He wasn't certain what the thing was, but he'd got   
an impression of very long legs, and a big head with no neck. It had   
left a small puddle of nasty smelling green slime by the mailbox.  
  
He watched the thing flee, then glanced at the house. He   
was looking at Willow's living room, where she was watching the channel with all   
the politicians talking. Whatever it was, it was definitely watching   
Willow, and it didn't want to fight him. Those two things made him   
suspicious.  
  
Willow found the slime puddle. Odor must be strong enough   
that she can smell it to, the expression she has. Where's she going now? Better   
follow her in case slimy the bouncing coward comes back. Hmmm she's   
visiting the librarian. The one that knows about vampires. They're talking   
about the puddle of slime. People write books about demons? He's got lots of   
big books full of many demons and their descriptions. That's   
just...creepy.  
  
Sabertooth kept trying to corner the slimy thing, and a few   
times he got close enough that it ran away. Every time, it had changed it's skin   
to look like the surroundings. He also listened carefully when the   
librarian Giles mentioned things from his demon books. If it mentioned a weak   
point, he wanted to know.  
  
Willow asked Giles to teach her to fight. So she could stay   
alive long enough that someone else could save her. Fluffy doesn't look like   
she could save anything, and she isn't even here. She's smarter than that...   
ahhh. She's using that to talk Giles into teaching her. I knew she was   
smart. It's good to know how to defend yourself against something attacking   
you. I wonder if she's a mutant? Can't tell from her scent, but not all   
mutants have a scent that lets you know.  
  
She yelled at Sander. He's dating some girl, and complaining to Red about   
the confusion of love. He still hasn't figured out that she has or maybe   
had a thing for him. I hope she's got over him - he isn't worth all the   
time she spends worrying. Would have been interesting if she'd hit him,   
but... the door just slammed. Who slammed that door?  
  
More discussion about how to kill things at the house of the   
many books. I hadn't expected anything like this from the looks of him, but they   
are talking about methods of dismemberment, and the particulars of   
different weapons. I prefer a more hands on method myself, but most people   
don't have claws.  
  
Several days of trying to catch the slimy demon, and I still   
haven't got it. They have a name, and apparently, all it takes is catching it and   
dismembering it completely. I can dismember it if it will just let   
me catch it... Willow is learning to fight, and it's good for her. She's   
also started running. It's a bit harder to follow her without being   
noticed when she does that.  
  
It's waiting for her to come home. I left early, knowing   
she'd be practicing with Giles on how to fight. I smell it lurking by the   
shrub. Careful ... don't want it to smell me... Hah! got it!  
  
The slimy thing was agile, and strong. The fight was   
violent, and Sabertooth had been injured by the slimy thing. It had looked   
rather like a frog that could stand up. It's slime burned on his skin, and   
especially in the cuts it had given him. He hoped it wasn't poisonous. He   
dismembered it and left it in pieces over the driveway. Then, he jumped into a   
tree, so that Willow wouldn't see him when she got here.  
  
She's looking at the pieces on the driveway. I can hear her   
voice as she says "Ick." I have to smile at that. Such a simple way of   
describing the remains, but it sums it up well. She looks up from the remains, and   
smiles.  
  
"Thank You." With that, she went into the house.  
  
Sabertooth sat in the tree, thoughts tumbling in his head.   
She had said thank you. She had looked at his handiwork, the dismembered bits of   
slimy giant frog, and said thank you. He wanted to see her smile at him,   
he liked the sound of her voice. He could only remember one other person   
ever thanking him for anything in his life, and that was Magneto. He   
didn't quite remember most of his life from before, but he didn't think it   
had been happy. He didn't think many people had told him thank you in   
his life. He was almost certain nobody had ever thanked him for killing before.  
  
Her soft words gave him a strange, warm feeling deep   
inside. He liked it. He knew, in that moment, that he was no longer just going to protect   
her because Magneto had asked him to. He would protect her because she   
was Willow, and he liked her.  
  
end ACT5. 


	6. ACT 6: We Have Company

Fic: A Cat's Tale 6: We Have Company 1/1   
  
takes place before and during part 4 of FT8.  
author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13 for violence  
no pairing  
disclaimer: the only thing in this that is mine is the Ik'Tarin. i  
don't think anyone would want it.  
distribution: Charity's site, others please ask.  
  
  
Sabertooth was actually glad they had returned to  
Sunnydale. He had a better idea of how the town was put together, where the vampires  
lurked, and where the dead end allies were. It wasn't precisely safer, but he  
would rather try to keep Red safe somewhere that he was at least a little  
familiar with than somewhere he didn't think he had ever been. They had  
returned from San Diego. He was pretty sure that she had seen him. He  
hadn't quite intended that to happen, but it was to late to change things now.  
  
He was moving through the area around her house. After all,  
he'd been away for nearly a week, best make sure nothing had moved in that would be  
a danger to her. He was not only watching and listening, but also  
trying to catch scent of any possible danger. One such scent rose from the  
sewers, something a bit like crocodile, and a bit like jellyfish. That was  
odd, and in this town, odd generally meant it was dangerous, and he cold kill  
it.  
  
Then he smelled some different scents. They were being  
carried on the breeze, and had traveled a bit before reaching him. The lightning  
woman, and the man with metal claws. They were Xavier's people. They were  
also traveling with some others that he didn't recognize the scent of,  
teenagers. Why were Xavier's people here?  
  
After his circuit of the area, he returned to Willow's  
house. The windows were dark, everyone had gone to sleep for the night. The door was  
unlocked. Very careless. Someone could just walk right in, like he was  
doing. He pulled a crumpled postcard from a pocket, and found a pen on a  
desk. He very carefully wrote the message on the postcard, and addressed it  
to go to Erik at his prison. His message was short.  
  
Xavier's people in town. Not sure why.  
  
He then looked at the desk, and found a book of stamps. He  
put the last stamp on his postcard, and carefully left the house, locking the  
door behind him.  
  
* * * *  
  
Willow was sent to get more stamps the next evening. He  
followed, trying to stay out of sight. He was a bit concerned that the scent of the  
crocodile thing was rising from the sewers all over town. He couldn't tell if  
it was nearby or not.  
  
She was on he way back home when the manhole cover was moved  
aside behind her. It was being pushed by a tentacle. More tentacles emerged,  
and the thing began to pull itself up from the sewer. It looked mostly like  
a crocodile, except for the tentacles. He leapt at it with a roar.  
  
The tentacles were fast, and they ended in thick pads with  
little hooks. They tore at his clothing, and at his flesh. The wounds burned,  
telling him that there was some sort of poison. He had to keep away from the  
jaws, and still kill this thing.... this could be tricky.  
  
Suddenly, the thing jerked back, the manhole cover half  
buried in it's throat. Seeing an opportunity, Sabertooth lunged forward, striking  
at the back of it's neck, severing the spinal cord. It fell back into the  
sewers.  
  
He stood there, trying to catch his breath. Red was over  
there, unhurt, but she looked afraid. His wounds felt like they were burning, and  
he could feel the blood still oozing from them. The world tilted to the side,  
righted itself. Things spun a bit, and everything went dark.  
  
end A Cat's Tale 6. 


	7. ACT 7: DoorCrashers

ACT7: DoorCrashers   
  
  
author: Lucinda  
rating: PG 13, no pairing  
disclaimer: I do not own anybody in this story  
distribution: if you have permission yes, others please ask  
note: takes place slightly before and during part 1 of FT9  
  
  
  
After a long awkward time of sitting and thinking about the discovery  
of Magneto's cancer and expected resulting death, they had gone up the  
stairs to sit in the living room. Her parents were gone, but they had left  
the television on a channel that was talking about the weather in Florida.  
Willow changed the channel, and now it was about how the special effects in  
movies were made to look real. After a while, he realized that he was  
hungry.  
  
"What sort of food is there?" Sabertooth asked Willow.  
  
They had looked in the kitchen, but the options were fairly few, and  
mostly either canned or produce. Sabertooth was not particularly fond of  
vegetables. Thinking, he had an idea.  
  
"Hey, Red. Let's order pizza. There has to be somewhere in this town  
to get a big pizza with lots of meat on it." As he spoke, he gestured to  
indicate how big a pizza he meant.  
  
As the discussion continued, he made a discovery. He had never tried to  
convince someone who ate kosher to order a pizza with bacon and ham and  
sausage and pepperoni and.... well, he wanted one with lots of meat. Willow  
seemed to have problems with some of those ideas, and so he was trying to  
persuade her that really, he could eat the whole meat pizza, she wouldn't  
have to worry about kosher diet. They could get Willow her very own pizza,  
with no meat at all if she wanted, although why anyone would want a pizza  
with no meat was beyond him.  
  
He was once again gesturing to indicate the size pizza he thought they  
should order when he caught scent of someone he should know... Wolverine.  
The next thing he knew, the metal clawed mutant had attacked him, knocking  
him to the floor and toppling the coffee table and the magazines placed on  
the top of it. Snarling, he felt the urge to kill his attacker, an urge  
fueled by more than his own instinct, something from back before.....  
  
This wasn't why he was here. As he managed to prevent the silvery  
claws from taking his head off, he remembered. He was here to keep Willow  
safe, not to fight old rivals. He punched the dark haired man in the face  
as hard as he could, stunning him briefly. He leap to his feet and grabbed  
Willow. Throwing her over his shoulder, he bolted out the door, a trio of  
teens scattering as he charged.  
  
He ran from the house, intent on gaining as much space as possible.  
Xavier's people had found him. They had some reason for being here, and he  
couldn't let them endanger Willow because of it. Eventually, he had to  
stop. His lungs were demanding air, and the wound on his shoulder had torn  
open again. There were little cuts from Wolverine's claws. Nothing to  
serious. Willow was worried, but unharmed. She insisted on making certain  
his wounds weren't to serious.  
  
"Who were those people?" She looked at him, her eyes bright with  
questions.  
  
He should have known nothing would stay simple in this town.  
  
end A Cat's Tale 7. 


	8. ACT 8: Waiting at the Doctor's

Fic: Waiting At the Doctor's  
author: Lucinda  
rating: pg 13?  
no Willow pairing  
takes place during part 7 of FT9.  
again, I own nobody from BtVS or Marvel. I do own Dr Hause & his staff.  
  
  
  
  
I can't quite understand it. Xavier wanted to have his people find   
Willow so she could help save Magneto. It doesn't make sense, but that's   
what they said. Willow even believed them, at least partly. Which was how   
they ended up talking her into flying off somewhere with them. Of course, I   
had to go along, how else could I be certain that she was safe?  
  
Plane trips are miserable, and small planes are worse.  
  
But no, the misery didn't stop there. Alright, the shopping wasn't too   
terrible, and I definitely could use a few new things. But then, the gaurds   
wouldn't let her go into the prison to see Magneto. She was pissed about   
that, but she didn't yell at the gaurd. She was practically growling on the   
way back to the hotel though.  
  
The worst was yet to come. Storm, the woman that called lightning, had   
made Willow an appointment to go see Magneto's doctor. I found myself   
worrying about all the things that could go wrong, and having a big feeling   
that doctor was BAD. No explanation that I could think of, but I was sure   
it was something from Before. No way in Hell that I was letting her go to a   
doctor's without protection.  
  
That was how I ended up in a waiting room with Red and Storm. There   
were other people, smelling of pain and sickness in some cases. There were   
even a few children, and someone with a little baby. I could smell the   
antiseptic and the rubber gloves from here, even over all the people.  
  
It was setting me on edge, and I had no idea why. Brief flicker of   
almost memory: cold metal tables, bright white light, figure in a surgical   
mask and coat bending over me... A sudden, sharp pain brought me back. I   
had clenched my hand, and my claws had dug into the arm of the little chair,   
splintering the wood and making some of the splinters dig into my hand and   
fingers. Now the scent of my blood was added to the scents of antiseptic   
and rubber gloves and sickness and pain. It didn't help any.  
  
A woman in medical clothing the color blue rather than the faded green   
that I was expecting called Red's name, and she stood up to go back there.   
Something in me wanted to grab her and take her far away, certain that   
there was a danger here...  
  
"Relax. I'll be okay, just try to be calm." She leaned over towards   
me, concerned for me. She patted my hand reassuringly and followed the   
woman back.  
  
Doesn't she realize how.... no. She doesn't see any danger in this.   
She isn't afraid of seeing a doctor. She has no buried fears making her   
nervous in this place. I'm here as well. She has to know that if anything   
happened to her, if she needed any help at all, i'd be there for her, even   
in this horrible place. I'm her back-up if she needs help.  
  
I hate waiting. hate it hate it hate it.... I'm pacing now. Walking   
along the wall, waiting as Willow is back there, in the depths of the   
office. Everyone else is leaving, and she's not back yet. Did I mention   
that I hate waiting?  
  
Still pacing, waiting for Red to come back out. Or even for something   
to happen, something that I can shred to get rid of some of this tension.   
Maybe I'm not he only one nervous about being here. Something's bothering   
Storm, I can smell her fear. She's sitting very still over there, got some   
magazine in front of her. She hasn't turned a page in forever, I know she   
isn't reading that. Is she still upset that I tried to kill her at the   
train station? Held her up and almost choked her? hmmm most people would be   
upset, yeah.  
  
Red's not back yet. I'm getting really worried now, how long does it   
take for whatever it is she's doing back there? They could be dragging her   
off to do some sort of horrible experiments, horrible things where they   
slice into her flesh, carve out her insides...  
  
Wait, the door is opening now. She's there, she's alright. There's a   
faint hint of blood, a small bit of tape holding a cotton ball on the inside   
of her elbow. No scent of pain, no drugs.. she's safe.  
  
"Hey. All finished her for now. The doctor drew a bit of blood to run   
a few tests on, and he promised that someone would call with the results. We   
can go now." She was smiling, the smile that says let's get out of here.  
  
Best idea I've heard all day. Leave the horible place and go away from   
it. Hmmm, maybe I can talk her into going out for steak somewhere? Just a   
good thing that she came back out of there. Shadows of memory flickered in   
his mind, the scent of antiseptic, the smell of fear and pain mixed with   
drugs.. blurry figures in green clothing and white labcoats....  
  
Shaking my head slightly to get rid of the bad memories, we step  
outside, the hot sun light and absence of air conditioning almost like a   
blow to the system. Nothing but the air, filled with scents of everything   
around us. No antiseptic, or gloves... He was relaxing already.  
  
end A Cat's Tale 8. 


	9. ACT 9: To Kill or Not to Kill

ACT9 To Hurt or Not to Hurt  
  
Author: Lucinda  
Rating: y-14 for Vic's violent thoughts and use of bad language.  
No Willow pairing, assumed Angel interest  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Other people with more money do.  
Takes place during FT10, beginning with Willow's talk with Xander.  
  
=====  
  
Red had decided to tell her friends that she was a mutant. She'd been pondering it out loud, talking about the advantages and disadvantages of it ever since she'd got the test results and had official proof in her hands. The moving manhole cover had been proof enough for me, but hey, her mind works differently than mine. She'd decided to tell them, because she figured it would cause more trouble, a bigger fuss if they'd found out by accident than if she told them upfront. I suppose it made sense. So, she'd told the brownie girl, Amy. The brownies were even better warm. Amy had been okay with the idea. The boy wasn't taking it so well. I could practically taste his blood the more he shouted, could imagine the feel of his flesh shredding beneath my claws. He already smelled of bruises and pain, it would be so easy to add the scent of blood to it....  
  
"A mutant! Like your cousin?!? Like the guy who nearly killed several hundred ambassadors! Way to pick your family Wills. Way to pick who you want to get to know better! He's a convicted felon! Terrorist! Bad Guy! This isn't like getting into the advanced classes Wills, this is majorly weird and bad and... I'm outta here." He was practically shouting, and then he stomped off, glowering and muttering about mutants being dangerous.  
  
She cared what he thought, which made his words cut her deeply. I knew that about her, although I can't quite understand why he matters so much. I can smell the tears in her eyes, she's trying not to cry as she watches him storm away... then I hear her voice, soft and sounding as if she's broken something inside.  
  
"Xander?" The barest whisper emerged from Willow's lips.  
  
Sabertooth thought to himself: "I wasn't certain what to do. It was extremely tempting to follow the boy, to rip him into shreds for what he'd just done to Red. He'd just hurt her, badly with his angry words. I could feel a rumble in my chest, knew I was growling a bit from listening to that boy. He wouldn't be able to stop me. All it would take... Then, I glanced at Willow. Her eyes were open, the tears gleaming over them, but she wasn't actually looking at anything. She wasn't seeing what was around her, wasn't paying attention to anything but her pain.  
  
"Damn, she needs me here. If I leave her alone, she wouldn't be able to defend herself, lessons or not. It's more important to keep her safe right now. I can kill the boy later for hurting her. She's not even focusing when I move towards her... this is bad. What can I do for her? How can I help her through this? Maybe if I take her away from his spot, where he hurt her, it could help. She's not moving on her own, maybe if I put my hand on her shoulder and sort of... tow her along? We've left town now, walking the whole distance. There's a nice little spot, tucked back a bit from the main beach area. I'm not sure what to do now, so we're just sitting here, watching the waves crash on rocks, sending a spray of water into the air.  
  
"Willow's face was damp with tears, and she sat there, her knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, pulling herself into a small huddled mass of pain. Watching her, all I can do is sit with her and hope that she'll recover. I can't change it so that his words weren't said, can't undo the pain they caused her. Not all wounds are to the flesh, and the wounds of the soul and heart could cut far deeper than any bodily injury. Hell, I've used that before, there had been a few times that I can remember bits of... hurting people not by cutting them, but by destroying someone or something they cared about. It had been just as effective, if not more so than actually wounding the person so that there was blood flowing.  
  
"Her tears have slowed though, from a constant flow to a mere trickle. All I can do is be here for her, sit here and watch her cry, hope that it would help purge the pain from her, like lancing a boil. Well, that and make certain that she knows I'm here, that I won't abandon her.  
  
"The other thing I can do is to stay alert, to make certain that nothing attacks her now. She's so busy hurting, she might not notice if something came after her. That's why I'm here, to make certain nothing tries to eat her up.  
  
The wind shifted, bringing to a new scent, the scent of vampire and smoke. As the vampire drew nearer, I recognized it as the one she'd called Angel. The one that doesn't trust me, remembers me from a long time ago. Part of me wonders what the vampire could tell me of my past, of who I was Before, but that isn't a matter for now. Best tell Red. 'Red, we have company. The vampire ... Angel ... is headed this way.'  
  
"He may be able to fool some of them into thinking he's human, but.. he can't fool me. He smells of death and blood... and he's interested in Willow. I can tell from the way he keeps watching her, the way he's looking at her now. Looks like a part of him just wants to drink her up, not just her blood, but also her light, the whole cheer that she normally has. If that were all, I'd have to get rid of him, but... He worries about her too. He doesn't want the bad things to get her, and Red seems to like him too. She'd probably be upset if he disappeared. At least the vampire doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that she's a mutant. He looks worried; he can see how upset Red is. Makes me think a bit better of him, that he wants her safe, that her being so upset worries him. I can see his question forming, he wants to know what happened.  
  
"I motion for him to step away from her a bit. She looks like she's just getting out of the shock, just starting to see the world around her again. I don't want to send her right back into her pain by making her hear the whole thing over. He apparently understands what I'm trying to tell him, he steps over to where I'm standing. Red can see us, she can tell that she isn't alone, that I haven't left her, but she shouldn't be able to hear us over the waves.  
  
Sabertooth and Angel had stepped away from Willow, so that Angel could have an explanation of why Willow was so upset. It was obvious to Sabertooth that the vampire was worried about Red, that he wanted to know what had happened to leave her in such a state. He'd find out what happened eventually, no sense in not telling him. Also, the vampire had been at the house with the Watcher, so he already knew that Willow was a mutant.  
  
"She ran into the boy earlier. She decided it would be best to tell them she's a mutant, not have them find out by chance later. You and Giles knew, and she told the brownie girl, Amy, about it. So, she decided to tell the boy. Started with he was all pissy because her cousin is Magneto, then he asked if she was a mutant too. She said she was, and he got all obnoxious, made me want to gut him. Called Magneto a terrorist; he said she'd turn out just like him. He hurt her bad. Only reason he's still alive is because I can gut him later, but she needed me now. She's been sitting there since afternoon, just crying. No notice of her surroundings." I'm trying to keep the words quiet enough not to bother Willow, but I'm growling again. He hurt her, made me angry at him...how can he do that and say he's her friend?  
  
The vampire's looking all thoughtful, and growling faintly as well. It's obviously not directed at Sabertooth, it's for the boy. He doesn't seem to like Xander either. His face shifts to a hunter's mask, yellow eyes and fangs, changes to look human again, and back to his hunting face as he tries to control his temper before he speaks.  
  
" Let me advise this. Give him a few days to come to his senses and grovel profusely. If he doesn't wise up and apologize to Willow, then gut him. I might even help. She doesn't deserve that sort of pain." Angel spoke, obviously trying to use reason rather than emotion to give his advice. His eyes were still vampire yellow, and there was a faint hiss to the s's because of his sharp teeth.  
  
"Oh, there's an idea.... The vampire could help me gut the boy. Not that I'd need help, but if he wants to make the boy pay for hurting Red... Well, it sounds like a good idea to me. Except the part about waiting a few days... I'd rather kill the boy now. But, the vampire's probably thinking the same thing I am: for some reason, Red likes the idiot, she might be upset if he died. This vampire might not be so bad after all."  
  
end ACT 9. 


	10. ACT 10:  Worlds Collide

A Cat's Tale 10: Worlds Collide  
  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg, pg 13  
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else form X-Men, I do not own Willow.  
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.  
After dinner, Willow and Hans 'please, call me Grandpa like Chris and Lili do' Dane made their way into the sitting room. Willow started asking a lot of questions about his genetic research, showing her usual near obsessive thirst for details. As she pressed for details on when he got interested in sorting out genomes and why, Chris and Lili backed slowly away from the doorway, their eyes wide.  
  
"She's smart. Soaks up information fast too." Vic's voice rumbled from slightly behind the twins, and they both jumped.  
  
"umm... you startled us." Chris' voice was a bit apologetic.  
  
Lili was eyeing him thoughtfully. "Are you really over two hundred years old?"  
  
He gave a small grunt. Willow's cousins were a bit afraid of him. "Yes, but I can't remember most of it. Someone else she knows knows that I was around then..." His words trailed off, as if he was trying to figure out if they had made any sense to the girls.  
  
Chris spoke, her words slow and puzzled. "Who would she know that's over two hundred... was this someone even there, or just looking at records?"  
  
The cousins went upstairs, muttering something about evil homework, and someone named Green who loved to make them suffer. It took a moment to realize that they actually just meant a teacher who gave a lot of homework... algebra homework. Not actually a sadistic person who enjoyed torturing girls, or some sort of demon, just an enhtusiastic teacher.  
  
It was sort of amusing. Had he ever had so few worries? After a moments envy of the girls, he realized that they weren't entirely without troubles, just without some of the ones that had made things miserable for him. They knew exactly what their names were and where they came from, and they were teens with no influence. They looked entirely human, and probably had no more strength than a human would, even though the one was a mutant and the other might be. He couldn't quite manage any sympathy for the boyfriend problem though.  
  
He went to rest outside on a tree, finding it a soothing perch. Maybe he was just an overgrown, odd-looking cat in a few ways. In that case, he would be Willow's cat, which was actually a bit of an unsettling thought. He'd been domesticated. He let his mind dwell on that for a while, wondering how it had happened and if it was quite as terrible as he'd feared. His attention was caught by a sudden melodramatic line from one of the cousins.  
  
"Fear the House of Static! Nobody gets out unfrazzled!" Chris' sounded like the announcer of some old, corny horror movie, the sort with lame plots, cheesy special effects, and melodramatic lines.  
  
They collapsed into laughter, and from science and mutant inheritance, they slid into a discussion on old horror movies. Debating the relative merits of a slew of cult classics, and shredding their special effects to mirthful bits.  
  
Inside the bedroom, the three girls thought no more on the ever-present static. But down the hall, Vic had been listening. The distance of the hallway was no impediment to him, not with his keen senses. He'd met mutants with many different abilities, one of them, the X-Man Storm, having the ability to call lightning bolts. Wasn't lightning just very, very big static from the sky? What if the static wasn't just a matter of the house, but was actually a sign of someone's mutation?  
  
He smiled into the darkness, certain that as long as he stayed with Willow, his life wouldn't be boring. She lived over a place of demons, some of which were extremely challenging, and had a knack for getting involved in troublesome and dangerous situations. She was still plotting to possibly break into the house of some boy, the sort-of-ex of one of her cousins. Fighting demons in Sunnydale, and breaking and entering in San Diego... Willow was certainly going to keep things interesting. Even if she might had domesticated... no, tamed sounded a lot better, tamed him.  
  
He wondered about the whole hereditary thing that she'd discussed with the old man. About mutations being passed down in families. Had he been given is abilities by a different parent, or were they no more than the product of random changes? Had he left children somewhere with these altered genes? Did he even have children? There was so much of his life that he couldn't remember, but he was certain that he'd had sex, most likely quite often. Sex was what lead to children, after all, so it was possible that he had offspring out there in the world. Poor kids.  
  
"Ummm... actually, there are. Vampires at least, since I haven't run into any werewolves, but if vampires are real, there could be werewolves too." Willow's voice was quiet, and a bit worried. It dragged his attention back to the girls' conversation.  
  
Chris' voice was a soft startled whisper, almost like a plea. "What, really real? Like... Dracula is out there type real?"  
  
"I don't think he's really out there. And none of the one's I've met can turn into bats or wolves, but yeah, really real. And dangerous, on account of eating people." Willow's voice had just a hint of doubt.   
  
Chris spoke again, and there was a wispy scent of fear/nervousness drifting down the hall from both of the cousins. "How do you know that vampires are real?"  
  
Willow sighed. "Well, Sunnydale isn't just a quiet little town. It's little, but not quiet. There's something called a Hellmouth, this weird mystical evil power. It sort of draws evil things to it, like vampires and demons. There's a special person who has a destiny to fight them, and her name's Buffy... my friend Buffy. I sort of found out accidentally. But vampires are real, and if you're ever in Sunnydale, I can take you out for some hands on vampire hunting. Umm... quick tip, never invite some stranger into your house after dark. Vampires really do need a spoken invitation to enter someone's house. They don't reflect, and contrary to Lost Boys, crosses and holy water do work, the only thing garlic does is smell really bad. Vampires have a better sense of smell than humans, and they're really strong."  
  
"Vampires are real?" Lili sounded worried, and as if she was trying not to believe.  
  
Willow sounded sad and a bit wistful. "Yes, very real. As real as mutants, but without the publicity. And a lot more consistent in what they do. Super strong, faster, better senses, and that whole blood drinking no sunlight thing. I just... I want you to know how to be careful. I haven't got a lot of people that I care about, I don't want to loose you."  
  
She was trying to make them aware of the dangers out there, the things that she fought against. Red didn't want her cousins to get eaten because she hadn't warned them. Nice of her, and just the sort of thing that he was starting to expect of her. With a sigh, he tried to relax, having the feeling that this would be a long talk for the girls.  
  
It made him smile, realizing all over again just how much she cared about her people. How much she worried about their safety. Settling back, he was pleased that magneto had asked him to keep her safe. Otherwise, he would never have met her.  
  
end Worlds Collide 


	11. ACT 11: Running Plots

A Cat's Tale 11: Running Plots  
  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg  
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else from X-Men, I do not own Willow.  
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.  
note: set during FT 12, One Family's Bonds during Vic & Willow's morning run.  
  
Vic was looking out the window while his fingers drummed an erratic rhythm on the sill. His fingers stilled as Willow came down the stairs, dressed in the soft and comfortable clothing that she wore to excercise in.  
  
"You look a bit restless... Morning run sound good to you? I just want to leave a note so nobody freaks out." Willow's voice lacked her usual cheer, as if something had pulled the vibrancy out of her.  
  
He glanced at her, a small frown on his face. "There were bad dreams. And too much static everywhere."  
  
Willow stifled a giggle, barely. "Fear the house of static... Sounds like everyone had bad dreams. I know Chrys and Lili had them all night... and you probably heard them waking up too."  
  
He gave a small nod. He hadn't liked those dreams, even if they were fading away as he moved. They had been full of pain, and rejection, and people laughing at him, screaming that he was a freak. There had also been a small dark room that smelled of damp soil and vegetables... His snarled a bit, trying to hurry away whatever forgetting wakefulness brought. "Ready?"  
  
Putting the paper on the table, anchored by a coffee mug, she opened the door. "Ready. Let's go get some fresh... well, not so staticky air."  
  
They began their morning run, the movement warming their muscles, soothing his uneasiness. He focused instead on Willow, on keeping his pace slow enough that she wouldn't lag behind, listening to her even breathing. He would rather pay attention to real things, physical things that he could do something about than wrestle with the meaning of dreams.  
  
Willow made a few of the small noises that indicated she was thinking before she spoke, her voice soft and almost hesitant. "Vic? Did anyone... or maybe everyone else in the house have bad or unsettling dreams last night?"  
  
"Yeah. Lots of waking up and they weren't happy dreams. Can't say what they did dream about, but they didn't like it." He was looking at her, certain she had an idea. Maybe an answer to the whole mess.  
  
"I think... well, I remember that one of Xavier's people is a telepath, so she can look into people's minds or influence their thoughts. What if there's an empath or telepath in the house? If there was, and they had a bad dream or bad feelings... maybe they sort of shared the feelings with everyone else? Sort of a projected misery?"  
  
He frowned a bit as he pondered the idea. "We all had bad dreams because there's an unhappy mind walker? Can't they keep it inside?"  
  
Willow looked at him, and gave a small grin, intended to be reassuring. "Not if it's Chrys or Lili. They would have only recently had it develop, so the wouldn't have had time to learn how to keep it inside."  
  
He nodded, and they continued their run in relative quiet. He wondered how long someone had been a mind walker, and if they whispered into a persons thoughts or just twisted their emotions, leading them into things that they hadn't planned, hadn't wanted. Hmm... a bit of bitterness there. Had he known a mind-walker before? He must have, but when? Back in the forgotten past, how much had he done, what had he known? Would he recognize the man he'd once been?  
  
She sighed, apparently thinking about everything. About the complications in her cousins lives, and her need to help them fix everything. Her need to help people in her home town, to fight vampires and demons, which could actually be quite fun, in his experience. Probably thinking about her friends, Amy the nice one, Fluffy the Slayer, and That Boy. Maybe even thinking about the vampire that had known him before, Angel.  
  
"Tonight, we have to go pay a visit to Brian Alvarez. We need to find out exactly what's going on with him, and then we probably need to feed Lili strawberry ice cream." Her voice barely trembled, something no normal person would have caught, but there was a bit of nervousness in her scent.  
  
"Sounds like fun." Vic had a hint of a smile as he spoke. Maybe he would even get to hurt something. Probably not the boy, or his parents, but... maybe something. Were there vampires in San Diego?  
  
End ACT 11 


	12. ACT 12:  What Does She Want?

A Cat's Tale 12: What Does She Want?  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg, pg 13  
  
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow, mention of Cordelia  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else from X-Men, I do not own Willow.  
  
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.  
  
note: this takes place after FT 12, but before FT 13.  
  
  
  
  
  
Vic was sitting on the steps, staring at a snag on his pants. Okay, more like his claw had snagged on it and made a ragged tear, but it was about the same thing. He was thinking about Sunnydale. Not just the foolish boy that Willow still wanted to have as her friend, or the vampire that remembered him from the times before, or the little blond fighter. No, he was thinking of the dark haired girl who liked boy-bands. The one that he and Willow had saved. Cordy-la, no, Cordelia. She was pretty, but... He'd seen prettier women, older women, females that weren't under age. But they didn't look at him quite like she did.  
  
She didn't look at him as if he was a scary thing that could go berserk at any moment, or some half tamed missing link. No, she looked at him... she looked at him with this intensity, and a sort of hunger. She looked at him as if she wanted him. As if she wanted... well, all sorts of things with him.  
  
He sort of liked it. And it was a bit confusing. People didn't look at him like that. Especially not humans, although most of them just tended to run away. She had thought he looked big and dangerous, but... she hadn't fled. She'd been watching for him.  
  
But what did she want from him? Did she just want to play, a few passionate tumblings on the grass... no, probably in a bed? Did she want to have a secret passionate affair with a mutant? Would he be some sort of trophy accomplishment for her? Some passionate experimentation? Or was she willing to look past the claws and the differences to see him as a man?  
  
With something that was halfway between a growl and a groan, he dropped his head into his hands. She was baffling, this Cordelia.  
  
"Thinking really deep thoughts, or trying to figure out why I like Xander again?" Willow's voice, awake and almost cheerful.   
  
"Cordelia." He summed up his confusion with her name.  
  
"Oh." Willow frowned, traces of anger, frustration, and a sort of hope entering her scent. "I don't understand her either. But, she's... she's changed in the past year. Since she discovered there were vampires, and demons. It's like... she used to be this shallow, self centered snob, and now, she's discovered that there are more important things out there than football and shopping and concerts. She's... I don't know, but I'd like to think that she could become a pretty decent person. Instead of just pretty."  
  
He chuckled at her string of words. "She keeps watching me. And I don't understand what she wants. Longer term, not short term."  
  
For a moment, Willow just stood there, before her entire body flushed. "Ohhh... you and Cordy... visual... eeep! Trying to move past that now... umm.... long term? I have no clue what she wants. She might not know herself."  
  
"Oddly, that didn't help, Red." He grinned at her, feeling slightly better. For some reason, he didn't want Willow to be upset about this... well, there really wasn't anything with Cordelia, but there could be.  
  
Willow looked at him, as if she could see what was going through his mind, although he didn't feel any of the funny tickling at the edges of himself that indicated a mind-walker. "I'm not going to say who you can or can't be involved with, as long as they're old enough and consenting. And I don't think I want to see it. But... Cordelia. Maybe we can sort through the possibilities so there's a plan for the possible outcomes?"  
  
"Usually, plans were for invasions and assaults." He couldn't help but compare Willow's plans to the various plans of Magneto. Willow was more willing to focus on the emotional, to do things because of how they would make someone feel. And she wanted to help people, all people, not just mutants.  
  
Willow giggled. "Erik needs to learn to get in touch with his feelings a bit more. You know, make plans for movies, for pizza, maybe ice cream occasionally. And we've made a couple attack plans, haven't we? Maybe we could work on a few more actual plans for patrol instead of 'there's one, let's get him!' and just, you know, attacking. Because sometimes plans are good. And have you noticed that the majority of the vampires we see are guys? I mean, why is that? Women can be just as vicious and dangerous as guys! Just because they aren't normally the size of a linebacker..."  
  
"Babbling." He grinned, wondering if any of her friends knew how much emotion was buried under her quiet exterior.  
  
"oops?" Willow didn't sound too apologetic. "Umm... anyhow, shall we start with the possibilities of Cordelia? I mean, what she might want."  
  
They started their morning run, figuring that the twins would be asleep for a while. Willow wanted to say goodbye before they returned to Sunnydale. There was also the appeal of if they came back to say goodbye, her aunt would insist on feeding them both a big breakfast first. Yumm.  
  
He glanced at Willow, certain that she wouldn't enjoy this discussion, and also certain that she'd continue it anyhow. "First possibility, she wants to experiment. Try someone very different."  
  
"Hmm... I don't think so. She's heard enough about the various icky things that she should know that sometimes, different can be very dangerous. That should be enough that she won't be trying not so human looking guys just because, they might leave her impregnated with their flesh eating demon spawn or something." Willow made a face as she spoke, apparently remembering some of the things from those old books.  
  
"Fleeehhhh." He made his own face at that image. "Sounds bad. Next thought, secret affair with the dangerous mutant."  
  
"Ack. I want to say that she probably wouldn't want somebody that she couldn't brag about, but there's always the possibility that I don't know her as well as I think, so... can't eliminate that one so easy. What if that's all she wants? A little while of passion, and then... moving on?" Willow sounded thoughtful.  
  
"She's pretty. I wouldn't mind playing for a while." He smiled, several images of just that sort of playing flickering through his mind.  
  
"Wouldn't it bother you? I mean, that would just be using you." Willow had a small frown, and it occurred to Vic that she was worried for him.  
  
"Not if I know. If all she wants is sex and passion... I can deal. If she claims to care and drops me... I'd get angry." He was pretty sure that he'd been used in far less enjoyable ways before.   
  
Willow was quiet for while. "What if she wants to try for a relationship? The sort that could lead to marriage and kids and a house and all that?"  
  
"Married? Me?" Vic chuckled at the idea, and then realized that Willow was serious. She really didn't see any reason why he shouldn't consider the idea of married and kids. "You can picture me as a parent?"  
  
"If she is actually serious, and wants to try to make something work, why not you, married and a father?" Willow had a small smile. "I mean, you'd care, which would be better than my parents, and I can't see you getting drunk and beating your kids like Jesse's parents used to do... Like I think Xander's dad still does. So, yeah, maybe you." Willow had this odd sound in her voice, as if she was speaking over a tangled knot of feelings and memories.  
  
"I'm glad you have that much confidence in me." He meant it, and was a bit unsettled by it. How could she have so much confidence in him as a parent when all he had were questions? "But I don't think I'm ready to start looking for a house with a garage and three bedrooms just yet."  
  
Willow blushed a bit. "No, I'm not saying right now! I just meant, you know, if in the future... You're allowed to have a life."  
  
"A normal life?" He couldn't quite help but ask the question.  
  
She snorted, making a sort of dismissive gesture with one hand. "You came to the Hellmouth. Nobody there gets a normal life, human or not. Buffy doesn't, I don't, you don't, Amy doesn't, Xander doesn't, Giles doesn't.... nobody does. But that doesn't mean you can't try for some good parts in it."  
  
"Some good parts..." He smiled at her words. "Yeah, I'd like some good parts."  
  
Maybe he could find theses elusive 'good parts', although it was much to soon to know if Cordelia would have anything to do with them. But if she wanted to try... That could be nice.  
  
But he could worry about all of that later. Now, they'd finished their run, and were headed back to the Stenner home, for goodbyes and breakfast. Mainly the breakfast on his part. Then, they would go back to Sunnydale, with it's tangle of emotions and secrets and evil. He almost looked forward to the evil part, demons and vampires that he could kill, no hard thought required. Emotions though, those and secrets made Sunnydale a bit harder.  
  
end What Does She Want? 


	13. ACT 13: Got Green?

A Cat's Tale 13: Got Green?  
  
Author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg, pg 13  
  
Main Characters: Sabertooth, Willow, and Carl  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sabertooth or anyone else from X-Men, I do not own Willow. Carl is mine.  
  
Distribution: If you have permission for Family Tree or one of the earlier Cat's Tale, yes. Otherwise, please ask.  
  
note: this takes place in FT 13, when Vic and Willow are searching for the green mutant.  
  
  
  
  
  
Finally, they left the hospital, a place with beeps and whirring noises and the scents of far to many drugs and chemicals, the scents of blood and a hint of bone from someone having been opened up. Something stirred in the depths of his mind, like a half remembered bad dream, or something in the mud at the bottom of a pond. Hospitals are bad, bad things happen there... He shook his head, trying to push the stirring memory away. Willow wouldn't let that happen, wouldn't let anyone take him away to a bad hospital to hurt him. Of course, there was something else to consider about Willow. Somehow, he didn't think that she would just ignore the question of the green mutant that Xander had mentioned. "What about Green?"  
  
Willow sighed, rolling her shoulders a bit as they walked towards the park. When she did speak, her words were hesitant, as if her thoughts were tumbling too fast and she wasn't quite sure which ones to let out. "I don't know. I didn't know that he was real.... I don't think he could be much older than I am. He must be so frightened... if he's still... if they didn't get him."  
  
Vic growled, his claws flexing as he remembered the aftermaths of a mob "getting" a mutant. Broken, bloody bodies, bones bludgeoned until they shattered, the stench of pain and fear and hatred thick in the air, almost thick enough to choke on, mixing with the scents of blood, bone, ruptured organs and bile. He could feel his muscles quivering at the idea of such a mob... always cornering the helpless mutants who couldn't do anything... Just let him have a chance to show them what a mutant could do... "Not a happy thought."  
  
"No, it isn't. But it could have happened. I guess... we can try to find him, try to help him if we can." Willow shivered despite the warmth, and traces of fear crept into her scent. Apparently, she had a few thoughts of what a mob might do to a frightened mutant as well.  
  
It didn't take too long to find the remains of Xander and Tracie's picnic. Willow sighed, and gathered up the blanket and basket while he tried to read the scents below the hill top. Not only did he want to find the green mutant, but he wanted to know the scents of the people that had done this. They would not hurt Willow, and if he caught up to them one night, they might not be hurting anyone else again either. The scent of the mutant was easy to read, filled with fear, pain, and there was some blood on the ground as well. He also smelled sort of furry. "This way... he was bleeding and afraid."  
  
Vic led the way to a small cave, not very impressive and little better than a hollow in the ground. Faint traces of the scent of the original occupant remained, something that smelled sort of like a badger and sort of like a snake. It would probably be a problem if not for the fact that it hadn't been to this cave in over a month. Blood had spattered to the ground, just a few drops, but that was more than enough. Glancing towards Willow, he considered the situation.  
  
She looked normal, and harmless, the sort of person that very few people would suspect of anything. She should be fairly safe outside, during the day. And humans had been chasing the boy, Willow might scare him, although this would probably be about the only way that would happen. "Wait outside."  
  
Vic ducked inside the cave, feeling glad that the snake-badger that had carved it wasn't his height. That would be a very big and dangerous thing, as it was, the burrow was a lot larger than any wild animal lair should be. The tunnel went back a little, and there was a slight curve before it opened up, the roof raising even as the floor dropped down a bit. The mutant was in here, and still afraid. "Hey."  
  
There was a sort of startled gasp, and the sound of rustling denim, followed by an almost smothered yelp. The scent of fear thickened in the near darkness of the cave. "Who..."  
  
"I'm not here to hurt you." For a moment, the words just sounded almost wrong. He wasn't a nice guy, not the protector of the world. He was just here... because of Willow. She wanted to help this kid, give him a chance, like she'd given him a chance. "Maybe we can help."  
  
There was a hint of hope in the voice when it came again. "Who's we? And I'm... Who wants to help a mutant anyhow?"  
  
"We do, come on out of there. The dirt's probably not good for the gunshot wound." Vic turned, hating the feeling of having an unknown at his back, reassuring himself that he'd hear it before the kid could try anything. Let the kid think it was a sign of trust.  
  
The sunlight as he came back out was welcome, and he could hear the mutant following, his footsteps sort of shuffling in the dirt. Once out, he turned, facing the younger mutant and trying to get a good look at him. His hair was a slightly darker green than the fur covering his body, longer, a bit wavy and almost the color of pine needles. He had hazel eyes that were wide with worry. He looked at Willow, and smelled more strongly of fear, glancing over and up at Vic. It was probably the first time that anyone had considered him less threatening. Considering that the kid was more afraid of Willow, it was actually rather baffling.  
  
"Umm... hi? You were... during the nightmares. I saw you." His voice was wary, as if he expected some sort of attack.  
  
Willow smiled, apparently trying to set the kid at ease. "Yeah. I wasn't sure if you were real. Let's go, I can bandage your arm for you."  
  
"You're sure? Most humans... I seem to scare them. And this place: it's not safe." He seemed skittish as he glanced around the park.  
  
"Sunnydale definitely isn't very safe. Too many vampires." Willow nodded, pausing a few moments before adding "And I'm a mutant too."  
  
"Don't look like one." His words were soft, as if he didn't want to get into trouble.  
  
Shaking her head, Willow gestured at the basket with one hand. "I look normal. But I'm a mutant. I even had genetic testing done, and I can pull a chart and point out every point of deviation, although I don't know if all of them are related to my mutation or not. I'm Willow, this is Vic. What's your name?"  
  
"Carl." His voice was soft, almost shy. He was looking at Willow with something that Vic could identify all to easily - surprise, bafflement, and a sense of confusion. Willow tended to inspire that in people.  
  
Willow grinned, looking more cheerful now. "I have bandages and pain killers."  
  
"Won't your parents mind?" He sounded worried, and looked caught between hope and fear.  
  
"They're out of town right until Monday. And neither of them have particular problems with mutants in the abstract." Willow sounded slightly sad, and glanced at Carl before glancing towards the airport.  
  
"What about under their roof?" He almost whispered the words, and looked at Vic, almost as if he was hoping for reassurance, for protection.  
  
"It will be okay." Willow's voice was determined.  
  
Vic sighed, knowing by now what that tone of voice meant. Things were going to be okay if she had to make it that way herself. It normally went with what she called her 'Resolve Face'. All they had to do now was figure out if Carl was worth the effort.  
  
end Got Green? 


	14. ACT 14: Unquiet Walk

author: Lucinda

rating: pg13

A Cat's Tale #14: Unquiet Walk

main characters: Vic & Cordelia, mention of Willow

disclaimer: Cordelia belongs to Joss, Vic belongs to Marvel

distribution: with the previous Cat's Tale stories

notes: Vic & Cordy's date

Vic felt nervous, uncertain what to do or what was expected. He knew how to kill people, how to infiltrate secured areas, how to fight, and it worked well against most demons. But this was entirely different. None of that would help him get through this.

He had a date with Cordelia. Part of him worried that she was too young. Another part contemplated some of the things that he could remember doing and counted the possibility to dating or having sex with an underage but consenting girl as so far down the scale in comparison that it would be just fine. But a third part worried that he'd been reading all the signals wrong, and that she wasn't interested, or at least that she was unwilling to act on it.

"Any ideas?" He asked Willow, feeling out of his element and nervous.

"Well, so maybe a nice walk somewhere? You can see if things...well, if they might work out for the short run at least. Maybe you can ask what she wants from you, from this." Willow shook her head, clearly uncertain of everything. "It's sort of one of the light date things people can do."

"I can take a nice walk in the woods." He grinned, already feeling a bit less nervous about the whole situation.

She pulled out her math book, and sighed. "Okay. Umm, good luck, and I hope that you have a good time with Cordelia."

He left the house, feeling vaguely guilty and at the same time confident that Willow had learned enough to be okay sitting in her own house for a few hours. She'd survived just fine before he'd arrived, she would be fine while he had his sort of date.

He could smell Cordelia before he saw her, some sort of floral blend shampoo and vanilla and strawberry lip gloss. She smelled a bit nervous, which actually made him feel a bit better. He moved closer, so that he could see her, and spoke. "Cordelia."

"Oh!" She jumped, startled by his arrival. "Don't you make any noise?"

"Do I need to?" He stepped closer, reaching out to brush her cheek. Her skin was soft, and her eyes were pretty.

Leaning into his touch, she sighed. "Mmm. It might be nice. Enough that it doesn't scare five years away when you show up."

He chuckled, and rubbed his finger over her cheek. "Soft skin... I'll try not to scare you too much then."

"So, shall we go for a walk?" She raised one eyebrow, a smile on her lips. "We can talk some, get to know each other a little."

They walked for a while, the air fresh, smelling of growing things, the sea air, and the local wildlife. "That might be hard." For a few more steps, he was quiet before continuing. "My earlier memories are gone, before about fifteen years ago."

"Everything?" She sounded shocked. "Your parents, school, everything?"

"There's a few feelings, like a place looking familiar, or the idea that something was done better elsewhere. I must have traveled a lot. Dreams sometimes, but those fade." He shrugged, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the absence of memories. Everybody else had their memories, had a past, but not him.

"So, do you think you've been in Sunnydale before?" Her hand had moved to hold his, and she was walking close enough that their bodies brushed against each other. Her scent said that she was interested, but not ready for some of the passion that he'd wondered about.

"I don't think so." He savored the feeling of her hand in his, thinking that maybe this was what normal felt like. "It's got a few things to make it enjoyable."

"Would one of those things be me?" Her voice had a small quaver to it, almost concealed uncertainty.

He felt his eyebrows lift. Could she be just as uncertain what would happen between them as he was? "You are."

Something hissed in the underbrush.

Glancing towards the noise, he felt the urge to growl back. "What now? Not a vampire in the sunshine..."

"I don't know." Cordelia smelled afraid. "There's a lot of dangerous things in Sunnydale that aren't vampires."

The thing could probably smell her fear. With a clacking noise, it lunged out of the undergrowth, scuttling with hairy, jointed legs. As it charged forth, it resembled a spider grown to the size of a large dog, and probably as big around as he could spread his arms.

Vic hoped it wasn't venomous, that would itch.

Cordelia screamed, a high, painfully piercing sound.

He growled, slashing at the giant spider thing with his claws, part of him wanting to kill the damn thing for interrupting, and part of him just wanting Cordelia to stop screaming. As his claws raked over its body, the spider thing screamed as well, an oddly echoed sound. It also battered at him with those many legs, each one feeling like a fist pounding against his guts.

By the time it was dead, blood had splattered everywhere. He could feel the bruises all over his legs and stomach, and his arm stung where it had bit him. His head hurt from all the screaming. He was pretty sure that there were more than eight legs, though he didn't worry about counting them.

The pleasant mood had been ruined. Cordelia looked a little green and a lot nervous. "Maybe we should get out of the woods now? What if there are more of them?"

"Alright." He'd sighed, certain that the afternoon was ruined.

She kept trying to wipe away the blood spatters as they walked back to where she'd left her car. "Giant spider demons in the woods. Yuck."

"It didn't hurt you, did it?" He looked at her, concerned.

Her smile was a bit weak and shaky. "It scared me, and I think the dress is ruined, but I'm not hurt."

Vic offered a small smile of his own, not wanting his teeth to scare her. "Good."

"Maybe next time we should just go to the beach?" She muttered.

He felt warm inside at that. "Beaches are good."

"Okay." She smiled, and stood on her toes, kissing his cheek lightly. "We'll figure something out later, okay?"

It was only as she drove away that he realized he had no idea when 'later' would be.

end ACT 14: Unquiet Walk.


	15. ACT15: Echoes of the Past

author: Lucinda

15th in A Cat's Tale series.

rated y-14 for potential violence, moderate swearing, and Sabertooth. May contain mentions of illegal and painful medical experimentation performed on involuntary subjects. But if you could watch the X-Men movies, you'll be okay.

main character: Sabertooth (from the X-Men movie, with comic history added)

may also contain mentions of Willow Rosenberg (from BtVS), Magneto, and Mystique (X-Men, movie incarnations), Tracie (original character of my creation) and Alazcia (slightly altered version of a character created by Joehundredaire).

distribution: with the previous installments of 'A Cat's Tale' - if you have permission for those, you may have this.

notes: set during FT14 - after part2 and before part5, in an altered season 2 BtVS timeline and after the first X-Men movie.

Sabertooth watched as Willow made her way into the school. She would be safe enough, probably. It would be the best time to try to follow the scent that Mystique had left.

Mystique always brought complications, even by herself. But since there was also the other woman's scent, someone that he was positive that he'd met before, he didn't know quite what to think. Who was she, and how had he known her? What were they doing in Sunnydale?

He had to find out what was happening. What did Mystique plan, and how was the other woman involved? Did these plans endanger Willow? If they endangered Fluffy, he might help. Too many thoughts, and he growled as he moved back towards the park where he'd caught their scents.

It took very little time to return to the park, and much less to find the scent trail of Mystique and the other woman. With hardly any thought, he followed the trail. He wasn't quite sure where they were going, but he would find out quickly enough...

The trail ended up in a little residential area, not quite apartment complexes, but not really private houses, and certainly not very big houses. Frowning, he sniffed the air again, trying to place some of the other scents. Yes, he smelled Xander and Tracie in the area, lots of Tracie. She probably lived here, in the gray house, the one that the scents of Mystique and the woman went inside. Mystique had emerged again later, smelling furious about something.

He circled the house, trying to make as much sense of things as he could. The woman had traces on her scent... she hadn't been strongly afraid, but she was trying to hide here. Tracie was still injured, the healing gunshot to her shoulder.

A shape moved towards the window, too solid to be Tracie looking as she normally did. The silhouette was inconclusive, his nose said woman, the woman that Mystique had brought. For a few moments, she was there before moving away, murmuring something to Tracie. "A shadow moving, I thought. Gone now, if it was ever there."

"This is Sunnydale, the shadows can be very real, and very deadly." Tracie's voice. After a pause, she continued. "But it is a bright and sunny day outside, it couldn't be a vampire..."

"I thought people of such a civilized nation did not believe in vampires or monsters." The woman's voice held traces of something - not sarcasm, but memory. Had she met vampires before?

"Sunnydale is something called a Hellmouth." There was a pause, and Tracie continued. "I don't think that aunt Raven knows, or if it would make any sense to her if someone told her. I needed it explained to me."

He didn't think those things were anatomically possible for an unbroken human, and he really didn't think it would work for a Hellmouth. But she was very creative with her cursing.

"I wonder... Is that you, Vic? Are you lurking outside my house?" Tracie's question was soft, and murmured from the inside of her house.

"You speak, but to what?" The woman asked.

"Good question." The mutter was soft, almost too soft to hear. "He's Willow's bodyguard."

"Your boyfriend's best friend?" The woman asked, as if seeking to clarify previously described relationships. "Why does she need a bodyguard?"

"Mmmm. Maybe he'll come inside and we can ask?" Tracie's voice revealed that she was moving closer to the door.

For a moment, he wanted to retreat, to not even permit the faintest chance of being confined in a space with someone Mystique was working with. But he needed answers, and the faint not-quite memories didn't suggest that this woman was an enemy. With a sigh, he moved towards the door.

Tracie opened it, looking blond and human, probably in case of any humans looking towards the door. "You were lurking. You'll probably get more answers inside."

He followed her into the house, noting the lingering scent of gun oil, but nothing to suggest that a gun had been fired inside recently. More fading scent traces of Mystique, old traces from Xander visiting, Tracie all over, and the other woman. "What name is your company using?"

"I am Alazcia." Her voice held traces of accents, of other languages and frustrations. Hair the color of the bottom of Amy's brownies fell around a strong face, with tanned skin that almost concealed a pattern of fingertip and smaller sized spots around her temples and curving over the cheekbones. Dark eyes peered up at him, and she simply nodded. "You look well, Victor. Or do you prefer Sabertooth?"

He sat down, trying to remain calm. "You knew me. Knew who I am, who I was. Does that mean you remember what happened?"

"Of course I remember." Her words were sharp, though the tone was low, as if she didn't want the sound to carry. "I could not forget. Why do you ask?"

"I don't remember. Not who I used to be, not where I've been, nothing before fifteen years ago." He paused, and reminded himself not to claw the arm of the chair. "Only nightmares and memories of pain. I recognized your scent, but couldn't remember a face or a name."

"Ahhh." She shook her head, and sighed. "So, what is this place, and why are you guarding a young woman?"

"This place is evil. There are demons, and vampires all around. Rather fun for me at times, but dangerous for other people, for humans. More than there were in Transylvania about ten years back." He tried to use simple words, instead of a growl that it was unsafe.

"More than Transylvania?" She blinked, and sighed. "How has such a place not been lost to darkness then?"

"Dumb luck and Fluffy." He grinned, knowing that many found the expression intimidating. "Now also me. Red and I go on patrols, I keep her safe while she tries to learn more control."

"Red... that's Willow. She's also a mutant." Tracie explained, glancing at the two of them. "Alazcia, you don't look old enough to have known him fifteen years ago, not unless you were my age."

Alazcia chuckled, though it lacked amusement. "Those differences mean that I do not age as quickly as a normal woman, though that is perhaps the only benefit that I've discovered. I was a soldier. He and I... there was an experimental program that we were put into."

"We were put into a form of medical hell." He growled, and looked at Alazcia, almost daring her to contradict the description.

"Yes." She didn't elaborate.

"Why are you here?" He looked at her, not quite demanding to know what Mystique was planning.

"I left so that if the Project returned, I would not be among its victims again. I am here because Raven felt it would be far from their searching eyes. She hopes that I can teach Tracie to defend herself." Alazcia murmured, her eyes haunted.

"Huh." He let his breath out as he considered her words. He would certainly want to stay out of the path and observations of anyone wanting to restart the programs like that filled his nightmares. He would then want to lunge at them in the darkness and leave them gutted and slowly dying in the night, but that was another issue.

"I would not have pictured you as a bodyguard." Alazcia had a half smile, full of amusement. "Or was the appeal of many things to hunt and kill too much for you to resist? You always loved a challenge."

"He asked, I came, and she needed someone." He shrugged, not wanting to explain everything. "I have reasons to stay."

Alazcia made a small noise, as if she was certain that there was more to his reasoning than he was admitting.

He just leaned back in the chair, folding his arms. There were things that he wasn't admitting, but there were also things that she wasn't admitting. Nobody would stay contentedly in a strange town with only strangers unless there was more than just not wanting someone elsewhere to discover your location.

"It does settle a corner of my mind to know that you are still alive and well." Alazcia admitted.

For the first time in a long time, he had the feeling that there was someone who understood what had happened to him. Someone else who had suffered in the same ways. Someone who was almost like... Was this what family felt like?

end ACT15: Echoes of the Past


End file.
